


Stasis

by ImaginationReaper98



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Black Widow aka Spider-Mom, Carol and Nebula are space moms, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Has Three Moms, Peter survives the Snap, Post-snap, but things will work out i'm no monster, there's a lot of angst sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-06 00:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18839503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationReaper98/pseuds/ImaginationReaper98
Summary: "I lost my parents, when I was a kid. And then my uncle got shot." Peter's voice was low and cracked and not for the first time Natasha was reminded just how young he still was. "May was all I had left."Natasha averted her gaze from him.I can't remember my own parents."I lost the only family I ever had." she whispered, thinking of her team, aware that Peter heard her say it. Perhaps she didn't mind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Part I: Aftermath**

 

...

 

**_Natasha_ **

  
When Carol Danvers first showed up in the Compound, Natasha had a gun pointed at her skull.

"Move or I'll pull the trigger."

The other woman was unfazed, and she even had the gall to quirk an eyebrow at Natasha. "You must be Agent Romanoff."

Natasha schooled her features down to remain blank. "I don't think we've met."

"Fury ever mentioned me?" Natasha froze at the mention of Nick's name, but she didn't budge, keeping a firm grip on her gun. "I'm Carol Danvers."

 _Danvers_. Natasha knew that name. It was classified SHIELD information, one that she wasn't even supposed to know. But she had her ways, back then.

"Codename Captain Marvel."

"I guess that's me." Danvers said. She nodded when Natasha put down her gun with only the slightest trepidation. "Where's Fury?"

...

Natasha gave Danvers the rundown on what happened, keeping her voice neutral as she recounted everything she knew, leaving out the part where she watched her team disappear in front of her eyes, or how she'd spent days tracking down everyone she cared about--Nick, Clint, Laura and the kids--just to find out that they were all gone, too.

Danvers could figure that one out by herself, since Nat was the only one left in the Compound.

Natasha told her that she found Nick's empty car in the middle of the road, and his pager on the ground. Neither of them verbally acknowledged what that meant.

"How did you know who I was?" Natasha finally asked, voice still in a practiced monotone.

Danvers's eyed flickered to hers from where she was slouched on a chair. Unlike Natasha, Danvers made no move to mask her emotions. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and she was grinding her teeth, fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white. She did seem to hold back when she found out a certain Maria Rambeau and her daughter were also gone after she had asked Natasha to search their names.

She stared back at Natasha, calm despite the tempest beneath her lashes. "Fury paged me when the Chitauri showed up, but the fight was over by the time I arrived. So I stayed a little while for drinks and that's when Fury told me about your team."

"They're all gone now." It still felt unreal to her, saying that fact out loud, her voice intentionally cold to mask anything else. She hated the sympathy in Danvers's eyes. It made her want to put all her guard down.

"You said Tony Stark could still be out there." Before Natasha could say anything to that, Danvers was already on her feet. "I'll try to find him."

Natasha stood up as well and pushed down the hope that started to glimmer in her chest. "Stark could be anywhere."

"Don't worry, Romanoff. I know my way around space."

She wanted to be practical, but if there was any chance that Tony could still be alive-

Danvers raised his forearm and tapped at it a few times, then a hologram appeared as she slid one finger across it. She squinted her eyes as she examined it closely. "Alien ships leave very noticeable tracks, especially after touching down on Earth's nearly untouched atmosphere. It's like seeing a blotch of ink in a blank page. Now, that's going to leave a trail." Danvers looks up at Natasha again. "I won't be gone for long. Keep your eyes peeled until I get back."

Natasha nodded. There was still a lot of work to be done, plenty enough to distract her before Danvers returned. "I will."

 

* * *

 

**_Peter_ **

  
Three weeks since Titan and Nebula hadn't strangled him yet.

She told Peter she would. "I'd strangle you to death if you do anything idiotic" were her exact words. Though Peter actually thought she was nice for someone that looked as intimidating as her.

Despite what she had said, Nebula didn't strangle him when all he did was cry for hours and curl up in one corner of the ship while she tried to get it to fly them out of that godforsaken planet. She also did not strangle him when he finally got up and silently offered to help with the repairs.

Three weeks and Peter was sure he was going to die in space, but at least it wasn't because Nebula was going to strangle him.

He woke up with a blanket snugly draped around him. Their food supplies were scarce, and space food tasted weird. Peter was pretty sure he had been munching on spaceship rations this whole time, so that was probably why it tasted not-so-good. He was absolutely starving, of course, but he wasn't dying or anything. Not yet. His mutated body probably helped with that. So Peter decided to skip breakfast, or not really breakfast because they were in space and the view was always just dark vastness, infinite distant stars, and nebulae. He sighed and sat up. Peter was determined not to cry again today, not even once. He managed not to for a couple of days, but yesterday the dam just kind of broke and he bawled until he fell asleep. Nebula probably carried him to his bunk, hence the blanket.

Seeing Mr. Stark fade into nothing but dust was something that wasn't going to leave his memory for the rest of his life. And if what Nebula told him about what Thanos did was right, there was a chance that the same thing happened to May. So yes, he did sob his eyes out yesterday, and many times before that, until they were swollen and his throat felt raw. Nothing new.

He was contemplating getting back to sleep when his spider sense perked up. A second later, he heard something coming from the cockpit. Peter stood up.

"Nebula? What's happening" he called out, quickly making his way to the cockpit.

"Hey, is everything al-" his words got caught in his throat. There was something in front of the ship, something bright and glowing like a sun, but it's too small to be one, and yet Peter still had to squint his eyes at how bright it was.

The light dimmed slightly to reveal a . . . _person_. A person was glowing and floating in front of their ship and Peter swore it was smiling down at him. Was he dead? Did Nebula finally strangle him in his sleep? That couldn't be right, they were kind-of-friends now.

"I know who that is." said Nebula behind him, startling Peter. He was so focused on the glowing lady ( _Is she some kind of sun goddess? One of Thor's cousins, maybe? Does Thor even have cousins?_ ) that he didn't even notice her sneak in.

"You do?"

Nebula nodded, also staring at the lady. "That's the formidable Carol Danvers, protector of the oppressed. Enemy of the Kree. Ronan absolutely despises her."

Peter's eyes grew even wider at that. "So she's here to help us?"

Nebula spared him a glance. "If you tell her you're a helpless Terran, then she might take pity on you."

Peter didn't know what a _Terran_  was, but he knew he was pretty helpless at the moment so that wasn't going to be difficult.

 

* * *

 

 

**_Natasha_ **

  
Danvers hadn't been lying when she said she wouldn't be gone for long. She showed up only a week later carrying what seemed like a spaceship.

Natasha practically ran outside. She looked up as Danvers landed the ship in the Compound's lawn, equal parts dread and hope inflating her chest like a balloon.

Danvers walked up to her and she didn't even have to say anything, the look on her eyes was enough.

Tony wasn't safe from the Decimation.

Natasha bit her lip to keep it from trembling. She really was alone. Again. She knew from the start that letting people in was a mistake and that cold truth was back to slap her in the face.

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears but Natasha refused to break down. She was still a damn Avenger even when she was the only one left, and she had a job to do.

There was guilt in Danvers's when she looked at Natasha.

"It wasn't you're fault." Nat told her. "So what's in that ship?"

"There's a kid, says his name is Peter Parker." Danvers said. "Calls himself--"

"Spider-Man." Natasha said. It was the kid from Germany, it had to be. He had been with Tony during the attack in New York.

...

She listened intently as Peter Parker recounted everything that happened, starting from New York. He was sat in the couch, cradling a mug of tea that Natasha had made him, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders that Natasha also provided. A sob broke out from his mouth halfway through his story and Nat's heart ached at the sound. Danvers shushed him gently, and Nebula told them the rest of what happened in Titan.

"Can I please leave? I'll be back if you need me, I promise." Peter said with a heartbreakingly small voice. "I just want to check if May-- if my aunt is alright."

Danvers was up in an instant. "I'll take you there."

"No, it's fine, Captain Danvers."

Natasha also stood and left the room. She went inside the main office (which was probably hers now since no one else was left to occupy it) and hastily checked if Peter's aunt was-- still living. He called her _May_ and so she typed that name down with Peter's last name. Natasha counted the seconds before the records arranged itself in front of her and then--

 

> _May Parker: Vanished_  
>  _Known relative: Peter Parker (nephew): Vanished_

Natasha's heart sunk. She was already dreading having to break the news about Tony to Pepper (Nat didn't want to just tell her over the phone). Watching other people's pain was harder than dealing with her own baggage. At least she was the only one that was getting hurt in the latter.

She got back to find Danvers all suited up and Peter fussing with his oversized sweater, which had Nat found it in Steve's old room. Danvers met her eyes and Natasha tried to convey words through her gaze: _his aunt's gone._

Danvers's face twitched, both righteous anger and sadness passing across her features like a wave, subtle enough that an untrained eye would miss it but Nat used to read people as a profession.

"Parker?" The kid perked up. "Can you please sit for a second?"

Peter sat down slowly. "May's gone, isn't she?" he mumbled as he cast his gaze down to his feet, hands still worrying the sleeves of his sweater.

Natasha nodded.

"I'm sorry, Peter." Natasha said with all the sincerity she could muster. Because even if this kid was a stranger to her still and the only time they had met he was in a mask swinging around with youthful bravado during a rough time for her and her team, she wasn't going to be heartless towards him. Natasha was cold, life had made her to be that way, but she wasn't heartless. At least she tried not to.

Peter sniffled when he looked up again. He looked so lost, and he probably was. Before Natasha could scramble for a way to remedy that a bit, Danvers spoke up.

"You can stay here for a while, get some sleep. I'm sure Romanoff won't mind."

"Of course." Nat glanced at Nebula. "You're free to stay as well."

"I'll sleep on the _Benatar_."

Natasha was never trained to read cyborgs, and the opportunity to attempt it never came up before, but Natasha was convinced that there was something more vulnerable other than blankness in the way the alien kept her eerily black eyes trained on Peter's hunched form.

...

 

"You got a plan?" Carol asked her when they were the only ones left. Peter occupied Steve's old room since it was one of the larger ones and it had extra clothes inside its closet. Natasha didn't linger inside there too long. Nebula went back to her ship with nothing but a nod (she'd learn later that, like Natasha, she had lost her team, and her sister, who had been the only family she had ever known).

"What else is there to plan for?" Natasha said with a weary shrug. "I'll do some rehabilitation work, maybe help out those whose families are dusted and has no one left. Help keep a safe and functioning civilization running after what just happened."

That didn't seem like the answer Danvers was looking for. "I meant Thanos."

Natasha gritted her teeth at the mention of that name. "You got something in mind?"

"I'm going kill him."

Natasha scoffed. "We don't even know where he is."

"But Nebula does." said Danvers. "I didn't tell you right away, I figured we should let the kid breathe first."

She considered this. Danvers really did seem like she was ready to punch the daylights out of Thanos. Natasha could exploit that.

They started planning the next day.

"So this planet, where the energy surge came from--"

"It's tropical, rich flora, ideal if you want to set up a _Garden_." said Danvers. "The asshole's definitely there."

Natasha took a long sip of her coffee. It was morning and none of them got a wink of sleep. Peter was still in his room.

"We could set course there right away." supplied Nebula.

"Wait, just the three of us?"

Danvers shrugged. "You have me."

"I know, Danvers, but there's someone who can help us, maybe watch our backs." She thought of calling Okoye-- and suddenly she was confronted with the fact that Wakanda was now a country with no living royal left. "On second thought, I think she's got her hands full at the moment."

"My father will have her guard down in the Garden. The _Sanctuary II_  is nowhere near the planet's system."

Natasha nodded thoughtfully. "So what's the plan when we get there?" She turned to Danvers.

"We take the gauntlet, kill the bastard, and use the stones to undo what he did."

The plan seemed so simple, but Natasha gained some sort of clarity from that. It reminded her of Steve and his steadiness, how his goals were usually clear and his awareness of what is _right_ steadfastly firm.

"We leave tonight." Natasha tried to find any sign of doubt from the two of them and found none. "We're going to fix this."

...

Natasha sighed as she parked her car back in the Compound. She steadied her breathing to keep her emotions at bay. She could still vaguely feel the imprints of Pepper's arms as the other woman clutched at Natasha's shoulders, her sobs shaking her entire body. Nat had cried too, quietly, and held Pepper just as tightly.

She hated leaving Pepper by herself in her grief, but she needed some space. And Happy was there. She'd hugged him too on her way out, patting him gently on the back.

Danvers and Nebula were sparring in the training room. Nat was too tired to join them, or even just watch. She made her way towards the kitchen instead, planning on making herself a sandwich for lunch, or maybe have a glass of wine even though it was still noon. No one would know.

She found Peter in the kitchen and Natasha could smack herself in the face for not stopping by to pick up some real food on her way back.

He was sitting on one of the stools near the counter, eating what looked like a burrito. He saw her enter and straightened up. "Ms. Romanoff, I--"

"Natasha is fine, kid." she said, almost with a smile. Almost.

"Captain Danvers bought us some lunch." he gestured to the other burritos and four remaining slices of pizza in front of him. There was a considerably tall tower of empty pizza boxes by his feet. Peter looked at her apologetically.

"She also ate most of the pizza already. She says she needs more than the normal amount of calories."

"Well, she isn't the first one to say that." Natasha slid down the stool across him. Peter offered her a tentative smile, then went back to eating his burrito. His eyes were puffy and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. Poor kid probably cried for most of last night.

"I told Happy you were here. He was about to come here himself to fetch you, but I figured I should tell you first." Natasha said.

"I- It's fine, really. Happy doesn't have to do anything." Peter replied, focusing on his burrito to avoid looking at her. "And I can leave whenever, or now, I can take care of myself."

Natasha's first instinct was to tell him he doesn't have to leave and look after himself out there. He was still a minor with no one else in the world. But she decided to change course, tread lightly rather than offer him the option immediately. She also used to stubbornly refuse help when she badly needed it. (She remembered Clint again, and Nat forced that lump down. It wasn't the right time to deal with it.)

Before Natasha could speak up again though, Peter beat her to it. "I know you're going after him, that you're going to leave tonight."

Natasha frowned slightly, faintly amused. "You were eavesdropping?"

"Not technically, I was still inside Captain Rogers's old room. I've got enhanced hearing and there was no other noise around here so. . ." Peter shrugged as he looked up. "It's not like I did it on purpose or anything."

Natasha's mouth quirked up briefly.

"I want to come with you. I want to help." he said.

"No." she quickly replied. "You don't have to. You've been through enough."

"That's also what Captain Danvers said." Peter sighed deeply. "But it's not fair, though. You guys went though a lot, too. I can help. Watch your backs, like you said."

Natasha pretended to consider this, but inside her mind was screaming NO. He was just a kid.

_A kid who had fought in space and had faced Thanos himself and survived._

Natasha inwardly shook her head. She wasn't going to bring a kid with her out there. Not ever.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let that happen. This is something we have to face. You've helped enough."

"But I haven't. I failed Mr. Stark. He was gone. I-I saw him just turn into... And now May..." Peter looked absolutely distraught. All the more reason not to let him come with them.

"None of that is your fault, Peter." she told him.

"It doesn't feel like it isn't."

 

* * *

 

**_Peter_ **

  
He glanced outside his window as the _Benatar_ took off into the night, ascending into the dark sky until it was too far away for him to see it.

He wanted so badly to go, to fight with them. He did it once, he could do it again. But the question was never about him being able to handle it or not, both Captain Danvers and Ms. Romanoff assured him of that.

Peter could've still tried to convince them, or even sneak inside the ship without them knowing, but he didn't. Ms. Romanoff wasn't stern or anything, but she was set on not having him come with them to fight Thanos again. Of course that never stopped him before but she looked...sad. The way she tried to talk him out of it. She looked sad and tired and guilt-ridden that Peter was compelled to stop pushing for it. She was a super spy and it could've just been some tactic she had pulled, but a part of him knew that she was being genuine.

Ms. Romanoff said Happy would come to see him tomorrow, but that he doesn't have to go with him, that he was more than welcome to stay in the Avengers headquarters for as long as he want, and that they filled the fridge and the counter with food and supplies that could last him for weeks.

His bedroom--Captain Rogers's old room--was sparse and empty other than the closet that was half-filled with comfy cotton shirts, sweatpants and sweaters. None were his size, of course. He thought of getting some of his own clothes in his apartment in Queens, but he really didn't want to go there to find it empty and devoid of any trace smell of May's mediocre cooking or the sound of her voice...

Overly big shirts would have to do for now.

Peter tried to sleep that night, but all he could think of was their plan. He heard what Captain Danvers said, that they would try to undo what Thanos did.

As crazy and impossible as it seemed, there might still be hope left.

...

Peter spent his entire morning inside Ms. Romanoff's office, searching through the records of the Vanished. A terrible idea, really. He learned that Ned, MJ, most of the people in their building, almost everyone he knew were also dusted. The day hadn't even properly started yet and he was already wiping snot and tears from his face.

Happy did come later that day. He greeted Peter with a pat in the back and a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

They didn't talk much, and the headquarters' common room was thick with silence with just the two of them there.

At length, Happy spoke up. "I know this place is pretty neat, kid, but you can come stay with us."

Peter was touched by the offer, he truly was. But he just couldn't make himself take it. "Thank you, but I think I'll do fine on my own."

"That's the thing kid, you don't have to be on your own." said Happy, and Peter has never heard him sound so sincere. He used to be constantly annoyed at him for no apparent reason. "Pepper, she doesn't like the idea of you all alone."

Peter has met Ms. Potts many times, he knew she was really nice, but he wasn't sure he could look at her face and not remember Mr. Stark and how he'd failed him.

Peter forced out a smile. "I'm fine. Really."

...

Peter woke with a start. He checked the clock on his bedside table to find that it was barely past midnight. He heard a commotion from downstairs and scrambled out of bed. He ran down barefoot, went straight outside, and found the _Benatar_  there.

"Hey, Peter."

Captain Danvers was behind him. She sat on the ground and leaned against a nearby wall.

"Captain Danvers. . . What happened?"

Out of nowhere, Captain Danvers began to laugh. It was a bitter, cold laugh, and Peter wasn't sure whether he shivered from the cold night air or because of how out of place that laughter seemed coming from her.

"You know what, Parker, we should've just let you come. Nothing really happened anyway. Thanos was making himself soup inside his own little hut, can you believe that?" She stared up at him and slowly, gradually, her face shifted into one that looked utterly defeated. She shook her head at Peter. "We failed, kid. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" asked Peter, trying not to sound frantic. "Where's Nebula and Ms. Romanoff? Are they alright? You- you didn't defeat him?"

The Captain laughed bitterly again. "We defeated him, alright. Nebula cut off his ugly shriveled head, you should've seen it. But we didn't get what we really went there for." She sighed. "The stones don't work anymore. Blasted things are as useless as pebbles now."

Peter was unsure of what to say. He should've seen this coming, getting everyone back had sounded too good to be true.

"Nebula's inside the ship and Romanoff brought the stones inside her office," Captain Danvers said to Peter, "not that they're worth shit."

Peter gave her a nod and made his way back inside. Each step he took felt heavy, taking him longer than it should to reach Ms. Romanoff's office. The door was closed, and so Peter sucked in a deep breath before he tentatively rapped the back of his knuckles against the door. He regretted doing it right away. Maybe the Black Widow didn't want to be disturbed.

He heard Ms. Romanoff clear her throat from inside the room. "The door's open."

It wasn't exactly an invitation to go in, but she wasn't telling him to back off either. Before his mind had the chance to overthink, Peter twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed the door half-open. Ms. Romanoff, still in her suit and gear, guns still latched on her waist, was leaning her hands against her desk. There was an open case in front of her and she was staring holes at whatever was inside of it.

She glanced up and she seemed mildly surprised to see him there. There were dark circles under her eyes and they looked as if she'd been crying. Peter tried to pretend that he didn't notice.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Ms. Romanoff. Captain Danvers told me you'd be here."  
  
She just stared at him for a while, her face unreadable, then after a tense minute she gestured for him to step inside.

Peter closed the door slowly behind him and walked in, pausing to stand there awkwardly in the middle of the spacious office. There was a couch inside, but he didn't feel like sitting.

"So Danvers also told you what happened?" Ms. Romanoff asked, speaking with an unvaried pitch that was kind of disturbing.

"Kind of. She seemed really upset." Peter replied. "She said the Infinity Stones don't work anymore, what does she mean by that?"

"It means exactly what it means." Ms. Romanoff turned around to face him. "You should take a look at them yourself."

She shifted to the side to allow Peter to see the opened case that was placed on her desk. Peter stepped forward and saw the stones neatly placed inside the case, but they didn't look like how he remembered them. These stones looked lifeless, prosaic and unremarkable. They retained their color, sure, but they didn't glow anymore and the cosmic power they held that should've thickened the air around him with was no longer present.

"Even Thanos didn't know why they're like that." Ms. Romanoff spoke beside him, still with that weird monotone-like voice. "We tried to pry answers out of him, but he really had no idea."

Peter didn't take his eyes from the stones as he tried to think of something, anything, to say or do.

Then finally he remembered.

"The wizard."

He must've sounded stupid when he blurted that out because Ms. Romanoff was frowning at him when he finally turned away from the stones to look at her.

"The wizard, Doctor Strange. The one Mr. Stark and I rescued when they took him from New York. He knew a lot about the stones. He's got a friend, I think he's another wizard and he's also here in New York. . . I forgot his name, I think Mr. Stark mentioned his name. He has to know why the stones are like this. We have to ask him."

Peter knew he was rambling, and Ms. Romanoff looked as if she had zero patience to put up with him, but they couldn't just give up. Not until they were sure there was no hope left.

"Bruce did tell us about Strange, says he landed on his place at Bleecker Street." said Ms. Romanoff, more to herself than to Peter. "And someone else, I think Bruce called him Wong."

"Yes! That's him." Peter nearly jumped. "That's the name I heard Mr. Stark say."

She walked around her desk and opened some screens, fingers typing quicker than what Peter thought was possible. "There's only one person named Wong down in Bleecker. He's still around, too. So that's fortunate." Ms. Romanoff tilted her head towards the stones. "And you think he can explain that?"

"I think so. I mean, it's worth the try, at least." replied Peter.

"Alright. I'll tell Danvers and Nebula. We'll go there tomorrow and ask nicely, but I still don't trust this guy, whatever he is."

Peter nodded eagerly. Ms. Romanoff looked at him then, and for the first time since he went inside her office, her stare didn't seem so expressionless anymore. "You can come, too."

"Really?" said Peter, trying hard not to sound too pleased about it.

Ms. Romanoff shrugged. "Be sure to suit up. We'll leave by 10."

"Yes, ma'am." he said before leaving the room.

...

The three of them left earlier than they had planned, and Wong was holding a cup of steaming hot tea when he found them standing on his doorstep. Peter didn't miss the discreet way Ms. Romanoff slid her hand to where she had cleverly kept a gun hidden from view.

"Who are you?" Wong said, until his eyes landed on Peter and they widened with recognition.

Peter waved at him. "Hey, it's me. Spider-Man. We've met, I mean not technically. We were busy fighting aliens at the time. But it's nice to see you again."

Captain Danvers gave him a sideway glance, eyes squinting slightly.

"Also we're here to ask you some important questions." Peter went on. "If you have the time."

"Uh . . . come in." Wong finally said after a few seconds just staring at them. They went inside and Ms. Romanoff introduced herself and the others, and Wong didn't seen too surprised that the Black Widow was inside his house ( _is this even his house?_ ). The place did look wizard-y, not in an obvious way like  _Hogwarts_ , but ust with the overall vibe Peter got from it. Peter noticed that Ms. Romanoff's hand was still placed on top of her gun as her eyes skated around the place.

"How may I help you?" Wong asked them.

Captain Danvers cut straight to the chase. "We got all the Infinity Stones from Thanos."

Wong looked at Captain Danvers as if she didn't believe her.

Nebula placed the case she was carrying on a table nearby, and Peter followed suit by putting the case containing the stones beside it. Nebula opened the bigger one first, and Wong's eyes widened at the sight of Thanos gauntlet inside.

"How did you--"

"We took it from Thanos, and the stones with it." Ms. Romanoff cut him off.

"And where are the stones?"

"That's what we came here for." Ms. Romanoff opened the other case to reveal their problem. "The kid thinks you may be able to explain what happened to them."

"Oh my . . ." said Wong. He moved forward and leaned down slightly to examine the stones. Hesitantly, he touched one of them and was surprised by the stone's lack of reaction from it. "They are in stasis."

"Do you know why they're like that?"

"Only one thing could compel the Infinity Stones to hide their true nature." he intoned. "When Thanos snapped half of all life and living matter in the entire universe to disappear, I suspect it very nearly corrupted the stones. None of them were ever used to cause destruction in a scale such as this, the loss of life was unprecedented."

"So you're saying that they just turned themselves off after Thanos killed more living creatures than anyone ever did." Captain Danvers said.

"Exactly."

Ms. Romanoff was staring down hard at the stones. "Is there a way to get the stones out of stasis?"

"Not that I know of. But I will try to find out." Wong told her. "Do you intend to use it to bring back the ones that were Vanished?"

"That's the plan." Captain Danvers answered him. There was an edge to her voice and in the way she glanced back at Wong. "You're not gonna tell us it's a bad idea, are you?"

"No, in fact it makes perfect sense. To have those lives just disappear was unnatural, striking a sudden imbalance in our reality." Wong said. "Now I think I must scour all the knowledge about the Infinity Stones that I could find."

...

Captain Danvers managed to convince Ms. Romanoff to make a stop at a pizza place. It was one of the few establishments that were still open after the snap, and the owner and his wife were the only ones running the place. He smiled at them kindly, shook Peter's hand ( _it's an honor to meet you, Spider-Man_ ) and pretended to be only slightly shocked upon seeing Nebula. They had the place to themselves, and Ms. Romanoff placed in a large order before choosing the farthest table at the back so the occasional customer that went in wouldn't have to notice them. Peter deactivated his mask by the time they were settled in, multiple boxes of pizza on their table.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Peter, voice slightly muffled from chewing a mouthful of pizza.

"We wait for Wong until he finds some answers." Ms. Romanoff said to him. She looked thoughtful ever since they sat down, leaning back against her chair while she absently chewed on her lower lip. She refused the pizza slices that Captain Danvers tried to offer her with a slight wave of her hand. "In the meantime, we try to do what we can to help. The world hasn't exactly adjusted yet."

"I'd offer to give you a hand but I have to go off-world soon." Captain Danvers said. She was sitting right across Peter, wiping her hand with a napkin after shoving two slices of pizza slapped together into her mouth. "I've been away too long and it's chaos out there, like there's going to be an intergalactic collapse if no one does anything about it." She looks over to Nebula beside her. "I could use a hand, if you're up for it."

Nebula gave her a single nod. The others took it as her own silent way of expressing interest, but Peter knew something they didn't. Peter saw her friends disappear, saw the guy with the sideburns hit Thanos in anguished rage, and Peter learned later that Gamora was her sister. Like him, Nebula had no one left and nowhere else to go. He once thought, while in a sleepless daze when they were still in the _Benatar_ floating in space, that it was funny how they were literally _lost_ , because that was exactly what he felt then and what he still felt now. He thought of that as he glanced towards Nebula, watched as her eye sockets were determinedly fixed on everywhere but on him.

"I hope you guys would visit Earth every now and then." Peter said, trying to sound flippant. Nebula finally looked up to stare at him, and so did Ms. Romanoff and Captain Danvers.

Peter should've just kept his mouth shut.

"Of course, kid." said Captain Danvers with what looked like the first genuine smile on her face since they arrived last night. It was fleeting though, and it was gone before Peter could properly register it to his memory.

"I'll pay you a visit, Peter. You can count on that." Nebula muttered, almost too low for them to hear.

No, Peter was definitely not tearing up.

He put his mask on and let a few tears fall.

 

* * *

 

**_Natasha_ **

  
Natasha tried not let her dismay show when Danvers and Nebula finally left. She was used to being alone, she'd been alone for most of her life, but the Avengers were supposed to be a unit. A team. She could handle things by herself, keep the Compound running and be in contact with Danvers, Nebula, and Okoye in case one of them needed an assist. But still, she could maintain a steely facade all she want, but she wasn't going to lie to herself. The Compound was too large for one person alone, and the constant silence didn't help fix the gaping hole in her chest.

Except she wasn't completely alone, not literally anyway.

Parker chose to stay in the Compound, not that the kid had anywhere else to go. But Pepper was perfectly willing to take the kid in, and what was left of the government had set up shelters for kids like him (though Natasha knew how cramped and less than desirable the conditions were in those shelters, she was doing what she could to help fix that). The kid stayed in the Compound anyway. It was almost like an unspoken arrangement between them. Peter stayed and Natasha let him. Simple as that. No need for sappy heart-to-hearts and long speeches.

The stones as well as the gauntlet were still in her possession, Wong had trusted her with them for some reason. She kept them inside an extra impenetrable glass box inside her office, secured with a combination only she, Danvers, and Nebula knew. There really was nothing left to do with it other than wait and even Danvers, who took it upon herself to find answers while gallivanting across galaxies, agreed that all Nat could do about it was keep it safe and wait.

So, to fill in so much free time she suddenly had, Natasha buried herself in her work.

International security was in a precarious position. Some world leaders were exploiting disorder to serve their agenda, shady organizations disguised as cults were popping out of nowhere and started to recruit people to do shady stuff for them, mostly minors and orphans, and not to mention the threat of the complete collapse of civilization. Nat did what she could. Sometimes she would infiltrate one of those cults (she took down five of them within a week, they were basically amateurs, but Nat figured she should stop them before they became too big of a problem) and spent an ample amount of time cooperating with Wakanda as they sent out resources to other nations they had active relations with, and apparently Okoye had no ounce of trust towards foreigners except Natasha so she was pretty hands-on with the whole process.

Some of the responsibilities Natasha had taken were definitely not in her skill set, but it kept her busy. If she did nothing all day, grief would drag her down. It was enough of an emotional torture to have regular nightmares of her drowning from the dust and dirt of everyone she knew and cared for, always waking out of those dreams weeping in cold sweat. Same went with Peter, she discovered, since the kid began to take patrols around the city again, both day and night. Natasha didn't stop him, of course. He was prefectly capable to take on his self-appointed job. Still, Natasha would leave a plate of eggs for him every morning. The kid would skip breakfast if she didn't do something about it.

Mostly, the two of them kept to themselves, except for the occasional run-ins in the kitchen or when Peter would walk into the gym not expecting to find her there beating up a punching bag like it did something to offend her. There was also that one time when Natasha threatened to drag him to her car to shop for new clothes because Steve's oversized shirts just wouldn't do anymore. The kid ended up packing his clothes and some other possessions from the apartment he used to share with his aunt in Queens after an entire day doing patrols (he left some chinese takeout on the kitchen counter for her that evening with a sticky note attached to it saying: _no need to spend unnecessary money for me, I got my clothes from my old apartment_ ). After that, most of their interactions involved Natasha making snarky comments about the bad math puns in his shirt whenever they bumped into each other in the kitchen or in one of the hallways. He once knocked on her door to ask permission to use the laboratory to make some web fluids, and she had given her a dismissive wave and told him to go for it. She eventually saw him there as she walked past the lab one day, and the sight had reminded her so much of Bruce and Tony that she ran towards the nearest bathroom just to compose herself.

Other than those few instances, Natasha and Peter managed to coexist without having their lives fully intersect.

That didn't last, however.

It was past midnight when her conference call with some arrogant assholes from Interpol and Nakia (whom she had exchanged multiple eye rolls with the entire meeting) was done, and Natasha felt a headache coming. She stopped by the kitchen for a glass of water and made a beeline to the common room, planning to laze out on one of the couches for a while.

She found Peter when she got there.

Nat paused, thankful that she walked noiselessly out of habit and a deeply ingrained instinct that even the kid's heightened senses didn't notice her walk in.

Peter had his face turned from Natasha, his body hunched over as he shook violently from the uncontrollable sobs that broke out from him, a couch pillow muffling the sound.

There were two things she could do at that moment. First, she could turn around and pretend tha she didn't see him there, and leave him while he got it out of his system. That's what she would want if someone walked in on her while she wept her eyes out, but then again, there were different creatures.

Nat's other option was to slowly make her way to him, sit by his side, drape a comforting arm to appease his sobbing, and maybe even let him cry against her shoulder.

Natasha chose neither of those two. It would eat at her if she just left him there, but she wasn't the tender and nurturing type either (Clint's kids had been the only exceptions to that).

She nonchalantly walked past Peter, placed the glass of water that was supposed to be for her on the coffee table in front of him, ignored how he froze up then slowly removed the pillow from his face to stare at her, and then took her place on the couch adjacent to his.

A little bit of both options, really.

No one dared to speak first. The kid was still staring at her, so Nat picked up a book that was laying abandoned beside her and started flipping through the pages to find the one where she'd left it only a few days ago. She stopped herself from smiling when she heard him take the glass of water and took three long gulps from it.

"Thanks," Peter spoke up after a minute, or maybe an hour. "Thank you, for the water."

Natasha peeked at him over the book she was pretending to read. His hair was a ruffled mess and she made a mental note to take him to a barber shop or trim it herself if she had to.

"Thanks for everything. You've been really, really nice, Ms. Romanoff. More than nice, actually." Peter added, and he looked like he was close to crying again.

Natasha closed the paperback and placed it where she had picked it up from on the couch. She looked at Peter in the eye. "You want to talk about it?"

Peter took a while to consider this before nodding slowly. Natasha gestured for him to go on.

"Someone ransacked our old apartment." he said. "I swung by there earlier and it was all a mess, everything was gone. I guess I can't blame the people who took away our stuff, no one was there anymore and almost everyone is suffering. But- it's just that . . . May worked hard for those things. Some of those were stuff that used to be owned by my Uncle Ben."

The kid paused to wipe at his nose.

"I lost my parents, when I was a kid. And then my uncle got shot." Peter's voice was low and cracked and not for the first time Natasha was reminded just how young he still was. "May was all I had left."

Natasha averted her gaze from him. _I can't remember my own parents._

"I lost the only family I ever had." she whispered, thinking of her team, aware that Peter heard her say it. Perhaps she didn't mind.

Since that night, Natasha and Peter spent more of their time together. Peter only did his patrols during the evenings, but never before having dinner with Natasha. Nat was competent in the kitchen but kind of helpless beyond frying stuff and making eggs, so Peter did most of the cooking for the two of them. He would sometimes drag her to the lab and she'd spend hours watching him work and listen to him ramble despite how much it hurt to look at him on his element and see Tony's quick wit and Bruce's unassuming genius. Natasha arranged for weekly conference calls with her new team, which consisted of Danvers, Nebula and Okoye. After the official stuff is over with and Okoye left the line with the friendliest nod she could manage, Natasha would call in Peter to come inside, and he would shoot questions at Danvers and Nebula right away. Carol always gave him detailed recollections of how they took down some troublemaker in space, and Nebula would tell him more subdued and less excited accounts of how they responded to some distress calls (she only ever shared the ones that went well).

Natasha and Peter's somber talks became an occasional thing. Usually when Peter had trouble sleeping or when his emotions got too overwhelming to push down. Nat opened up to him very slowly, bit by bit, and Peter would listen intently and not say a word. She had no idea how he knew she preferred it that way. It was good, having found someone she felt safe enough with to let things out of her chest, to not bother stopping herself from shedding some tears even when she knew he could see her at her most vulnerable, because those people had been rare in her life--Clint, Steve, and perhaps Bruce to some extent--and they were taken from her.

Life moved on around them, even when the both of them still couldn't, not really. But Natasha still had a job to do, and Peter had his entire life ahead of him, even when the world was broken and would never be the same. So they both endured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reaching this far. I'm going to try and post the next chapter as soon as I'm done with it. Things will be better and bright for these bbys.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The events in this chapter are set after a two-year time jump since the snap.

**Part II: Awakening**  


...

 

_**Natasha** _

  
Natasha popped a bottle of champagne when Peter graduated.

In typical Peter fashion, he mumbled awkwardly about it being "too much" and that Nat "didn't have to, really, some frozen pizza would've been fine" but Nat just gave him a dismissive non-threatening glare so he would shut up.

"It's not like I was reserving that bottle for something." _Because there's hardly anything to look forward to these days_. "And there's not going to be any cause for celebration in the forseeable future." _Because everyone we love is still gone_.

Peter was outnumbered by the time Carol came barrelling inside the building, Nebula trailing behind her and looking only mildly irritated. They only just came back from Norway after a mission Nat sent them on, specifically to help set up New Asgard. Natasha played the diplomat with this new pet project of hers (she might not have been particularly close with Thor, but he was still a friend and a teammate who had watched her back many times, so this was the least she could do). Carol and Nebula had arrived a few days ago for one of their routine visits on Earth, and Nat figured she could utilize Carol's experience with helping intergalactic refugees, so she'd sent them out there to help the people settle in.

It turned out the Asgardians were very exuberant in how they express their gratitude, and that was how Carol ended up with a large silver platter of roasted boar, which she placed on the dining table with a flourish and a cheeky grin. Nat just had to sneak a photo of how comically wide Peter's eyes got when he saw it.

"I have no idea why you even had to go back to school, Pete." Carol chortled. They were all seated around the dining table, probably the only time in about two years that it was used by anyone.

"Yeah, it's mainly just for the formality though. I have to at least finish high school to get into Wakanda's advanced STEM program."

Carol grinned, cocking an eyebrow at Natasha. "You could've just told Nakia that Peter's the real deal and have him accepted two years ago."

"That's what I told him."

"It won't be fair." Peter argued. "Besides, there were still some things that I needed to learn in school."

"I doubt that, Pete. " Carol shoved him lightly.

"You didn't seem to enjoy your time there, judging from how you always redirected our conversations whenever the matter of your schooling came up." Nebula remarked matter-of-factly, a tinge of teasing in her tone which Nat could only assume was a result of spending too much time with Danvers. "I always wondered why you had to go to that institute of learning when you seem intellectually capable already."

"Does this really matter?" Peter complained. "I mean, I just graduated. It's all fine."

Even when annoyed, Peter was still such a dork. But Nat knew it was a touchy subject (he'd opened up to her about how tough it was to go back knowing his best friends were gone, but that it was something he was determined to finish) and she was just about to change the subject before Carol did so herself.

"Then congrats to you, Parker." Carol ruffled his hair. "Now have some of this roasted boar, it's surprisingly tender."

Natasha had to agree with Danvers. For something that seemed crudely prepared, the food did taste good. She watched as Peter took a tentative bite, which was then gradually followed by large mouthfuls in-between long sips of champagne. Nat's plan had been to allow him to have one flute, but he loved it so much so she poured him some more. It was only for tonight, anyway. What was the harm? Peter was too much of a goody-two-shoes to have anything alcoholic near his tongue without Nat's full permission anyway, not that Natasha fussed over that sort of thing.

Carol then brandished a flask full of Asgardian mead, which just screamed _Valkyrie_ in every way. Nat declined when Carol offered her some like any reasonable person would, and so did Nebula. But three flutes of champagne and a belly full of food loosened Peter a bit and before Natasha could tell him to stop, he grabbed the flask from Carol's hand and chugged directly from it. There was one tense moment when Natasha was ready to snatch the flask back and Carol seemed too surprised and worried to even speak or move. Then Peter started coughing, an adorable grimace written across his face, and they all just started laughing at him.

"What the fuck was that?" he sputtered. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry for swearing, Natasha. Won't happen again. . . _Shit_  what was in that drink? My throat feels like it's burning."

...

Carol carried Peter to his room when he fell asleep on the couch. He had dozed off in the middle of the movie he insisted they watch, which was the last of _Star Wars_  film ever released before the Decimation (he kept lamenting the fact that the last installment of the franchise would never be made after the core actors Vanished, while Nat didn't even know they still made these movies).

Natasha pushed the door open when they reached Pete's room, and Carol smirked at the mess of sticky notes with scribbled ideas, books, and various tech parts littered inside. Looking at it still gave Natasha a headache, though. Nebula just didn't care, not even bothering to avoid stepping on anything as she walked inside to tidy up the sheets of his bed.

They tucked him in, Peter still snoring obliviously even though Carol wasn't being particularly gentle when she laid him on his bed, and lingered for a few seconds to watch him.

"So, what was that important thing you had to tell us again?" Carol whispered to Natasha.

"Let's talk about it in the office."

By the time they got there, Carol landed instantly on the couch and Nebula remained standing near the door.

"Remember our friend Wong?" Natasha said as she leaned her weight against the desk. "He got in touch yesterday."

"If he's just trying to score a date from you Nat, which I'm not going to be surprised at all if that was really the case because you're a catch but let the man dream the impossible anyway, then I might actually photon blast that hippy sanctum whatever of his." Carol rambled, though Nat could see through the act. Her jaw was tensed and her fists were clenched in anticipation.

"He said he's close to cracking our stone problem."

"How close?" Nebula rasped hopefully.

"I don't know, but he's very optimistic about it." Natasha wiped her palms across her faded jeans. "You think you two could stay for a while? He could get back to us with some answers anytime soon."

"Two more weeks." Carol offered.

Nat gave her a hard stare. "How about a month."

Carol glanced at Nebula questioningly, and the cyborg only shrugged.

"Alright, one month." Carol said. "I needed a break anyway."

...

  
_**Peter**_

  
Peter found himself on the ground for the fifth time that day. He would feel humiliated if it wasn't Natasha who was kicking his ass, because _of course_ Nat was kicking his ass, she was the _Black Widow._  Carol could keep cackling for as long as she liked, there was no shame in being slammed to the ground by Natasha Romanoff.

Still, Peter groaned as he let Nat help him up. "Don't you think this is getting pointless? You'll always find a sneaky way to pin me down anyway."

Nat shrugged. "All the more reason to keep training you." She turned to Nebula, who had been quietly watching them. "You got some encouraging words of wisdom for the kid, Nebula?"

Nebula took the suggestion too seriously. "When I was young, younger even than you, my father would make me fight my sister Gamora. Every time I lost, he said there was a lesson to be learned from it." It all seemed encouraging enough until- "He would rip me apart with each defeat and replace my organic flesh and bones with metal, to make me stronger, because even lessons were not enought to perfect me--"

"Okay, good talk, Nebs." Carol cut in. "How about you two call it a day and maybe Peter could make one of those sandwiches he loves making so much."

Peter was about to protest before Natasha spoke up first. "Tempting, but I still have to make some important calls before the end of the day. So you kids go on without me."

Peter frowned at her retreating form. "Wait, is it still about New Asgard? I thought you sort that problem out already?"

"I thought so, too." Nat agreed. "But the Norwegians wants to grant the Asgardians official citizenship under their government, not to give part of their previously uninhabited land. Mind you, the Asgardians only need a very small portion of their territory for it to even matter, but you know how thick headed politicians can be."

"What if the Asgardians just agree to that, it can't be that bad."

Nebula looked at him like he just said the most stupidest thing. "The Asgardians are proud people, they won't just bend over the whims of an inferior race."

Natasha nodded. "She's right, Pete. And they just crowned a new queen so it's not like they'd give up their autonomy. I don't blame them either."

"Wait, Asgard has a new queen?" Carol asked Nat, wide-eyed and grinning. "And is it who I think it is?"

"Who else?" Nat replied with a smirk, and Peter officially has no idea who they were talking about. Didn't matter. He might as well make those sandwiches while Carol tailed Natasha around like an excitable puppy. Weird.

"Alright then, keep your secrets."

"I heard that, Frodo." Carol called out before she and Nat left the room.

_And this is what I get in return for introducing her to the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time?_

Peter sighed as he picked up his shoes. He looked over to Nebula and smiled. "Want some sandwiches?"

...

It was a friday night and, as Peter expected, Nat was spending long hours inside her office again.

Peter had stopped at a Starbucks after his nightly patrols. Carol and Nebula left for New Asgard again after a week of staying inside the Compound finally got into their nerves, so Peter didn't have to panic over what to get the two of them since he had no idea what kind of coffee they would want. He picked up his usual order--an espresso for Nat and a Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino for him--and went home.

By the time he realized he forgot to order some dinner like an idiot, he was already in the Compound. And true to his idiot self, he hastily made a peanut butter sandwich instead of prepare something that actually resembled a meal.

Balancing a plate of sandwiches and two coffees with both hands, Peter sighed in relief when the door to Nat's office was ajar. He pushed the door open with his hip and was ready to flash Natasha his winningest smile, until he saw her.

Natasha looked up from her desk, having removed both of her hands from her face to reveal her tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. She looked like she was about to snap at him.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." If both of his hands weren't occupied, he would've held them up as if Nat had her at gunpoint, which wouldn't be so different from the glare she was giving him right now. "I'm really, really sorry Nat. I was just going to give you a peanut butter sandwhich and drop the usual friday evening coffee that I usually get you and the door was open but I should have still knocked--"

"Just. . . please stop talking, Peter." she interrupted. "It's fine."

"I'm sorry." he said again. She rolled her eyes and Peter let out a breath he hadn't even noticed he had been holding.

"Sit." she said to him, and Peter placed her sandwich and her coffee on her desk before he settled down on the chair near it.

Nat's mouth quirked slightly. "You should've seen your face."

"You should've seen _yours_." he shot back with a smirk.

"You caught me off guard, is all. I don't really mind it if you see me being sappy. You know that."

"Yeah, I know." he said. "You want to talk about it?"

"It's more of the same, Pete."

"I don't mind."

"Alright, that was a lie. I actually got some news." Natasha sighed. "Wong contacted me an hour ago. He figured out how to wake up the sleepy stones." She pointed her chin towards the Infinity stones on the far right corner of the room.

Peter couldn't help his eyes from going wide. "Really? What did he tell you?"

"He said that the only way to get the stones out of stasis was to find someone who 'has the essence of an Infinity Stone imbued into them' and then make them wield the gauntlet." Natasha stated. "And the only two people I could think of are dead."

Peter thought this over. Nat was probably referring to the Scarlet Witch and her twin, whom he knew were enhanced using the mind stone. He also knew that Wanda Maximoff looked up to Nat as her mentor, that they grew even more close while on the run, Nat shared to him once while drowning their sorrows over a tub of ice cream. Having to recall Wanda likely opened up other memories of her and the other Avengers, couple in the frustration of having any hope of bringing them back trampled on again.

Trying to dissect bits of information that Nat would give him during one of their  _talks,_ which usually happened when one caught the other crying like this time, was nothing new. Unlike Peter, who would just pour everything out, Nat left crumbs for him. Though he had gotten good at reading her, which sounded crazy even when he admitted that to himself because Natasha Romanoff was definitely _not_  an open book. But the thing was, Peter really did get her. Or he was trying to.

Natasha looked exhausted. The news was particularly depressing, and Peter would deal with his own reaction to that in the solitude of his own room, but Natasha needed him. Well, not really, because she was a badass and she could sort out her emotions by herself, but Peter didn't like the idea of her doing that alone. He was going to help her through this, like she always did for him. So he wracked his brain for something not too sappy, not too saccharine, devoid of bullshit, and comforting to say to her.

And then a brilliant fucking idea just dawned on him.

"How about Carol? She counts, right?" Peter said, hopeful and barely able to help himself from sounding giddy.

"An explosion got Carol her powers, Pete."

"Yeah, I know that, but the energy from the lightspeed engine that her body absorbed when it exploded was powered by the Tesseract so technically Carol was imbued by the space stone's energy, only not directly, but that could still count."

"Wait, hold on." Nat stopped him. "I swear if you're making this thing up--"

"No! I am not making this up, Nat. I promise!" Peter got up from his chair and began pacing the room. "I made Carol explain the science behind her powers, remember that? You were probably busy at the time. Anyway, that was how she explained it to me. The Tesseract was the core that powered the lightspeed engine, which then blew up and her body absorbed its energy. Did she not explain that to you?"

"I never asked." Natasha started rubbing circles around her temples. She didn't look tired and frustrated anymore, she looked deadly serious.

"I'm going to need Carol to stop flirting with Val and get her ass back in her." she muttered under her breath as she started dialing Carol.

"Wait, who is she flirting with? Why don't you guys tell me things."

...

Carol let out a guttural scream as she put one infinity stone in the first slot.

The power stone glowed an ominous purple, sending energy from the hand which wore the gauntlet and up to her arms, tendrils of power that stood stark from Carol's already glowing form.

"It worked." Peter croaked out. He was perched up at the edge of the facility's tallest building, ready to web Nat and Nebula away in case something went wrong.

"Looks like it." Nat replied through the comms, slightly breathless.

Carol was still hovering in the middle of the lake, though Peter didn't need to use his enhanced eyesight to see her hands move to place another stone on the second slot. Blue light gleamed from the gauntlet, and Peter finally released a triumphant whoop.

"Ohmygodohmygodit'sworking."

"Relax Peter, It's not over yet."

Peter watched as one by one, the stones radiated back to life. Carol's bright yellow-orange-white binary glow now seemed like a great merging of colors as the stones' luminosity shone through her like hazy waves.

Peter, who was grinning and laughing and weeping from behind his mask, looked down to where Natasha and Nebula stood. Nat glanced up at the same time, and her eyes were shining with hope.

Carol poised herself to snap her fingers, and Peter closed his eyes, thinking of May, Ned, MJ, Mr. Stark, and everyone else.

The back of his eyelids were red from a surge of light that he didn't see. He staggered from the sheer force of it and was thrown on his back, lying atop the building. He kept his eyes shut for a while longer, not sure what he would find when he finally opened them again. Natasha called out his name and his eyelids shot up as if out of instinct.

Above him, the sky was bare and blue like in his memories.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III: Blissful Chaos**

 

**...**

  
**_Natasha_ **

  
Having everyone back was a bizarre wonderful, admittedly quite stressful, miracle. The world exploded in a panciked and confused joy, with most people unable to take everything in without an ounce of doubt still. Many had screamed at the perplexed faces of the ones they had thought were gone. And those that came back, well, their last memory was dying an odd death.

Natasha had spoken to Okoye right after Carol brought everyone back, and she spoke to every world leader and authority she knew. It had taken a lot of hasty explanations, a lot of assurances, and a lot of patience.

She had been so busy that she hadn't managed to prepare herself for when she sees _them_.

When she got the call from Clint, she choked out a sob and listened as he shot her questions after questions of _whatever the hell just happened._  Clint paused when he realized Nat was crying, and that made her compose herself. She promised that she would fly to their farmhouse herself, once things were settled, sobbing all over again when Lila and Cooper and Nathaniel passed around Clint's phone, greedy for a moment to speak to her.

Another gut punch (in the best possible way) was when Steve and the rest flew in from Wakanda.

Steve looked just like the last time she saw him, still in his suit, his face battle-worn and unshaven. Natasha ran to him because what else was she going to do. Wanda looked worse for wear, and Natasha cradled her head to her chest, something she never would have done two years ago. Then there was Sam and Rhodey, and suddenly everyone was back, and she was hugging everyone.

Not a bad day, she thought.

Tony, with Nebula's team, stepped out from a glowing circle that appeared out of nowhere. Natasha, who was too glad to even question how weird that was, ushered in the med team to take him and called Pepper right away. The amount of calls she was getting and making was enough to make any sane person lose their composure, but not Natasha. She had had worse days during those two years. At least this time, the constant dread was gone.

It did quiet down a bit by the end of the day (though she suspected it was only temporary and she'd be at it again by tomorrow). She passed by Tony's room earlier in the medbay, already sound asleep with Pepper by his side. Steve and the others also retired to their rooms (Steve had to use one of the extra rooms since his old one was a mess thanks to Peter), Rhodey reported to his superiors, Nebula was with the Guardians inside the _Benatar,_ and Peter was with his aunt. Natasha was sure she was the last one still awake in the Compound at this hour.

"Why the long face, Romanoff?"

Apparently she wasn't.

Nat didn't turn from the view of the night sky that she had been staring at quietly before Fury decided to crash the party.

"I should've known you'd let youself in." she said.

"As much as I would love to take the credit, Carol got me in." Nick crossed over to her, stepping out into cold night air in the balcony, and leaned his side against the railing to face her. "I heard that you two got along. I once imagined you would hate her smug little face."

"Carol's not bad, once you get to know her. But you already knew that." She glanced at him sideways. "Thanks for giving her the call though, she was quite useful."

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here." he said. "And if you hadn't done your job, there wouldn't have been a civilization left for us to go back to."

She breathed out a sardonic laugh. "That wasn't me. I didn't do that."

"But you did plenty, from what I heard."

Natasha shrugged. "I did what anyone in my position would do."

"I'd say you're being too modest, but I know you better than to think that." Fury backed away from the railing. "Get some rest, Romanoff. Two years is a long while."

She went to her room an hour or so later, ended up staring at the ceiling for another half an hour. Everything went by so fast that day, she had cried as much as she had laughed, still did her job because that was never going to stop.

Her phone buzzed and Nat reached for it. Peter sent her a text.

_Are u still up?_

Nat smiled fondly as she typed. _Couldn't sleep._

His response arrived almost instantly. _Yeah me too._

Peter called her less than a minute later. They talked for some time, Peter for most of it. She was content to listen to him talk about how he and his aunt tried to tidy up their old apartment but ended up crying too much to have some real progress. She told him a bit about the things that happened after he had left to find his aunt, assured him that Tony was doing fine. When he asked about Nebula, Nat told him to call her himself. She looked happy to see her friends again, but theirs was a somber reunion. Her sister was still gone and to them, that loss was still fresh.

Peter told her Carol dropped by in their place earlier that day. His aunt didn't freak out, he assured Nat, and Carol didn't stay for long. Just checked in on him.

Their conversation lulled after a while. Nat could tell that Peter was scrambling for something to say, even without seeing that slightly scrunched up expression his face would get.

"Hey Peter," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" Nat could hear the frown in his voice.

"For being a little rascal." she said wryly. "Those two years could've been boring without you annoying me."

Peter chuckled softly. "Yeah, I know, Nat. I love you, too."

And that did it, she thought to herself. Nat's chest constricted and she blinked a few tears from her eyes.

For two long years, this kid had been the only constant thing in her life. She could've easily went down a self-destructive path after she had lost everyone, let go of all the Avengering for good, but it was difficult to do that when she had someone to look out for. Someone who also happened to help her out more than she cared to admit. Peter was that one constant reminder of who she was deep down, something that even the red in her ledger could never change. She was someone who cared too much to turn her back from it all. Peter kept her from forgetting that.

Dabbing at her eyes, she could almost laugh at the the amount and the range of emotions she went through the entire day. More than last five years of her life combined, she reckoned.

"Get some sleep, Peter." she said. He laughed and wished her good night before hanging up.

Not long after that, Nat fell asleep feeling more relieved and content than she had ever been in a very long time.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

**Epilogue**

 

**...**

 

_**Natasha** _

 

"A Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Wow, Tasha." Clint chuckled. "I don't know if I should be happy or worried."

"Whoever you are, please give us our Nat back." Tony said.

Nat smirked at them. "I'm turning it down."

"And let Okoye and Nakia take all credit?"

"They deserve all the credit." she shrugged. "I just helped. They ran the whole thing."

"That's not true, Mr. Stark." Peter piped up and Nat rolled her eyes at him. She suspected Pete would be all over Stark, hero-worshipping him like a proper fanboy, but it was worse somehow. Of course he'd take his side on anything. "Natasha served as the liaison between Wakanda and some countries that they had strained relations with, apparently the ones Okoye didn't trust and that included America, which I couldn't blame her for, really. Anyway, Nat ended up working a lot with Miss Nakia herself and they organized a bunch of post-decimation relief projects together. I got to actually volunteer for the one they had here." Peter rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly by the end of it, but his smile was bright when their eyes met despite how Nat was giving him the death glare.

Clint was amused. "Geez, kid. You didn't have to spell that all out. We did read up on what Nat's been up to while we were dead, you know."

"You mean all that article from Time? It didn't even mention some of the big things Nat did, like when she resolved a dispute between the Asgardians and the Norwegian government, and a lot of other international security stuff. You wouldn't believe it."

"Alright, I've had enough." Nat stood from her couch. "You boys keep it up, I don't think I can stomach more of this."

"Don't leave us with the kid." Clint pleaded.

"I'm 19."

"Sure you are, kid."

"Tell them about the roasted boar." she winked and ruffled Peter's hair as she left.

Tony raised his eyebrows, curious and horrified. "You roasted a boar?"

Peter was mid-ramble by the time she got out of the common room to go to the kitchen. It had already been a month since everyone was brought back and Nat was still getting used to the facility being so crowded again. She had gotten so used to the empty silence she hated so much.

Steve was leaning on the kitchen counter when she got there, leisurely sipping from his mug of hot chocolate. He smiled when he saw her.

"Want me to make you a cup?" he offered.

Nat sat on one of the stools. "God, you're such a mom, Rogers."

"You should see yourself fretting over Parker."

"Peter's an exception." she said honestly.

Steve's mouth curled into that annoying smile she knew so well, the one where he looked at her knowingly like he'd found her out. She had missed it so much, it ached just looking at it.

"I do see why you're so fond of him."

"He reminds me of you." Nat smirked. "Has no ounce of self-preservation in his body."

He rolled his eyes.

"It was a compliment."

"Thank you, Natasha." he deadpanned.

She tilted her head, searched his eyes more seriously. "How are you holding up."

He shook his head. "It's nothing close to waking up after nearly a century. How about you?"

"I'm just glad."

He smiled, all blue eyes and earnestness. He was being good-friend Steve, she realized. "You should go on a vacation, take as long as you want. We can handle things here."

"And go back to find the facility on fire? Not a chance, Rogers."

Steve chuckled. "I'm serious."

Nat had thought of it. Carol had offered her a trip off-world once, and she was nearly tempted. Not a single soul knew who she was there and space was both scary and beautiful, the type of thing she'd probably be into, at least that was what Danvers thought. Nakia and Okoye also offered her to stay in Wakanda anytime she wished. She declined both offers, though.

"I'd rather stay at home, Steve."

Steve nodded like he understood, and he probably did.

 

* * *

 

_**Peter** _

 

"I did think you were going to stop hanging out with us." Ned admitted while chopping some vegetable in Peter's kitchen. They were making dinner for themselves since May went out. "You know, since you're technically older than us and you're out of high school."

"Don't be stupid, dude."

"He's right, Ned. That's stupid." MJ chimed in. "We both know Peter was always the least matured one. At least we're even now."

Ned guffawed and Peter shook his head at them. 

"Yeah, keep laughing and I might change my mind and not have you meet Nebula and Carol."

Ned froze. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Peter wasn't being serious, really. The look on their faces when they met Nat (even MJ's general disinterest with the world dissolved for once) was too priceless. His only regret was not getting a picture. The plan was to snap one when he brings them to the Avengers facility the next time Nebula and Carol visited.

"He's kidding Ned, Peter's too much of a softy to deny us anything." MJ said with an eyer roll. 

A while later, Ned and MJ ended up dozing off in his couch. He wrapped them up with blankets before leaving for his late night patrol. 

Peter was an Avenger, though he mostly took care of problems that wouldn't usually show up in their radar. He was the man on the ground, the guy who stayed for clean up and would still stop bank robbers even when he was quite a global celebrity now (it was still weird how much people all over the world are looking up to him like he was some sort of savior and Nat would tease him endlessly, but he knew she was proud of him).

Peter had finally asked MJ out, too. It went well, and they were taking things slow since none of them have verbally acknowledge certain things yet. He also probably kind of broke Mr. Stark's heart when he said he was taking that five-year program in Wakanda's International Research center instead of MIT. He was still going there for his phd though so no harm done. May also got herself a new job with better pay and less hours. Peter had a nagging suspicion that either Nat or Mr. Stark had something to do with it. 

All in all, his life was going pretty well.

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback will be much appreciated.


End file.
